Economy & Business

Usibelli seeks five more years at Two Bull Ridge near Healy, and the state is revising the cleanup bond

Usibelli's Two Bull Ridge mine near Healy is nearing the end of its pits, and as it seeks a five-year renewal, the state is revising its $5.4M cleanup bond.

by Alaska Newsadded 2mo ago2 min read

Goldbelt subsidiary takes $821,000 in State Department work with no stated purpose

A Goldbelt subsidiary in Juneau picked up $821,000 in State Department staffing work in three weeks. Neither posting says what the work is for.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read

Homer planning commission asked to name Spit erosion, public works campus and harbor floats as top capital projects

Homer's planning commission votes Wednesday on three capital projects to recommend to city council: Spit erosion protection, a new public works campus, and $2.2 million in harbor float repairs.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Anchorage firm gets $77,900 more work at the Phoenix building it maintains

Anchorage firm Tunista Logistics Solutions won two federal repair contracts worth about $77,900 for a Phoenix building, part of a pattern of Alaska companies winning GSA work outside the state.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read

CDC orders $1.4 million more Atlanta construction from an Anchorage firm

CDC awarded Anchorage firm MTNT Construction $1.4 million in federal construction orders over five days in August, but the agency did not disclose what the work is for or where it will happen.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min read

Alaska will build software to help inspect its bridges

Alaska's transportation department won a $126,917 federal grant to build computer vision tools that read bridge photos and flag defects for inspectors.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read

Koniag subsidiary lands State Department writer work, up to $1.6 million

Koniag Professional Services won a State Department contract worth up to $1.6 million to staff a writer and editor position, though the job is based in Virginia, not Alaska.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Ouzinkie village corporation wins courthouse contracts in Florida

A village corporation from a 110-person Alutiiq island is fixing courthouse restrooms in Florida. One of the five awards bought only a new contract number.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Bradley Lake expansion has carried three price tags in four months as the comment window closes

The Bradley Lake expansion has been priced at $400 million, $420 million and $435.9 million since April. Alaskans have until Aug. 28 to weigh in.

by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read

HUD awards $85,520 to Anchorage disability housing provider

HUD awarded Anchorage disability housing provider AASC Housing II Inc. $85,520 to subsidize rent for very-low-income residents with disabilities.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

$1.54 million in federal rent aid for Kotzebue's four subsidized elder apartments

HUD awarded $1.54 million to Tupqich Elder Apartments in Kotzebue to cover operating costs for very-low-income seniors, who pay 30 percent of their income toward rent.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Skagway ferry port closed indefinitely; state gives no repair timeline

Skagway's ferry dock is broken and the port is closed indefinitely. The state's entire public explanation fits in one undated website alert.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Hoonah and Ketchikan dock projects renew marine mammal permits without breaking ground

Two Southeast dock projects keep renewing federal permits to make noise underwater. The permits keep expiring. The water remains undisturbed.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Trucks keep hitting the Tudor Road overpass. The rebuild is years out

Federal Highway Administration added $912,130 to rebuild the Seward Highway and Tudor Road interchange, one of Anchorage's busiest, with construction now targeted for 2029 or 2030.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Alaska takes a first step toward new air permits for Hilcorp's Nikaitchuq oil field

Alaska took a first step toward new air permits for Hilcorp's Nikaitchuq oil field, as North Slope officials push for air monitoring in nearby villages.

by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min readFrom Aug 9

An Anchorage firm will repair the State Department's headquarters

An Anchorage Alaska Native-owned firm won a federal order for emergency repairs to the State Department's headquarters — one of three out-of-state jobs.

by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read

Crews dug out Alaska's remote seasonal highways for summer, meeting in the middle of the Denali

Alaska cleared its remote seasonal highways for summer, with crews meeting in the middle of the 135-mile Denali Highway. A $1.25M federal grant paid for it.

by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read

Homer's library wants a remodel, starting with a $75,000 study

Homer's library wants a remodel, a teen room, a bigger meeting room, a covered outdoor space and more storage, starting with a $75,000 study to price it out.

by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read

A Sitka nonprofit seeks to bend the rules to build more housing

A Sitka housing nonprofit is asking the city to waive parking and allow smaller lots so it can fit more homes on a lot on Halibut Point Road.

by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read

A Fairbanks company owned by four Interior villages won a federal contract to replace a heat pump — in Boston

A Fairbanks firm owned by four remote Koyukuk River villages won a $30,780 federal contract to replace a heat pump, and the heat pump is in Boston.

by Melinda Communities.News3mo ago1 min read

Dunleavy says he is ending gas line special session, blames legislative leaders

Gov. Dunleavy signaled an end to his gas line special session, blaming legislative leaders, as Southcentral faces a projected winter gas shortfall.

by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago3 min read

Feds move to fast-track a Juneau flood-control fix by cutting permitting and paperwork

Days after another Juneau outburst flood forced evacuations, federal agencies are fast-tracking a flood-control fix for the valley by cutting the red tape.

by Melinda Communities.News3mo ago2 min read

Bethel-area electric bills would rise about 30% on everything but fuel

Bethel-area electric customers would see the non-fuel part of their bill rise about 30%, with AVEC blaming higher costs for materials, labor and freight.

by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min readFrom Aug 11

Follows: Electric bills would rise in Bethel, Yakutat and 50-plus rural communities

A Muldoon pot shop passed city rules, but a tribal youth program cites stricter state rules

A Muldoon Road pot shop passed city rules, but a tribal council says a stricter state youth-center buffer should block it. No one has settled which controls.

by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read

Follows: A Muldoon pot shop clears the park buffer, by measuring to the playground

A suction dredge permit off Nome is open for public comment through Aug. 18

A suction dredging permit for a small operation off Nome is open for public comment through Aug. 18, in waters where gold dredging has long been established.

by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min readFrom Aug 11

Follows: A new Nome dredge application enters the pipeline that just rejected a fiercely fought gold mine

A Navy ship tore a cleat off Kodiak's pier in a 100-mph storm

Replacing a mooring cleat a Navy ship tore off Kodiak's Pier II in a 100-mph storm will cost $72,500, and the city report doesn't say whether the Navy owes reimbursement.

by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read

Kodiak council to vote on $100,000 for aging wastewater plant electrical controls

Kodiak City Council votes Thursday on $100,000 to replace aging electrical controls at the wastewater plant before equipment failures disrupt operations.

by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read

Old Chena Ridge Road closed for duration of roundabout construction

Road is closed, but only temporarily. One day.

by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read

In Ouzinkie, one lake is water and power, so the village is building solar

In Ouzinkie, the same lake is both drinking water and power — so the island village is building solar and batteries to stop rationing one against the other.

by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read

Davidoff Street closes Saturday morning for Sitka manhole repair

Somebody blew their lid. I'm just kidding, but the road will be closed down temporarily.

by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read

Juneau's task force weighs crowding fixes amid a bigger question on how much tourism is enough

Juneau's tourism task force votes Thursday on downtown crowd fixes — a roundabout, crossing guards, Seawalk changes — the visible edge of its bigger question: how much cruise tourism is enough.

by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min readFrom Jul 30

Anchorage's water-coagulant contract returns with a pricier winner

Anchorage's water-coagulant contract is back before the Assembly with a supplier $855K pricier than the first — and no explanation for the switch.

by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read

A $1.8M grant to plan safer paths near Cantwell, with two catches

A $1.8 million grant will plan biking and walking paths on a dangerous Parks Highway stretch near Cantwell — but who runs it, and who'd plow them, is unclear.

by Melinda Communities.News3mo ago2 min read

Alaska will test whether Starlink can keep its road crews online in the bush

Alaska will test whether Starlink can keep its road crews and equipment connected in the bush, in a state already home to more than 60,000 of the dishes.

by Melinda Communities.News3mo ago1 min read

A village corporation for four remote Interior communities just won the contract to run San Diego's border crossings

A company owned by four remote Koyukon Athabascan villages on the Koyukuk River just won nearly $10 million to run San Diego's U.S.-Mexico border crossings.

by Melinda Communities.Newsadded 3mo ago2 min read

Juneau gathers its senior-housing help into one guide

Juneau is pulling its senior-housing help — ADU grants, renovation grants, contractors — into one guide to help older residents stay in their homes.

by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read

An Anchorage cannabis grower's license renewal turns on a $12,760 tax bill

Anchorage Assembly protested a marijuana grower's state license renewal over $12,760 in unpaid taxes and an incomplete inspection, but can lift the protest once the company settles the debt.

by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read

A faulting cable under the Loussac Library would cost the city a permanent easement

Anchorage Assembly will vote Tuesday on letting Chugach Electric replace a failing power cable under Loussac Library at no cost to the city.

by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read

A Midtown hotel vacant since a 2019 fire seeks approval to serve alcohol

Anchorage Assembly votes Tuesday on a liquor permit for the Courtyard by Marriott Midtown on A Street, with no public opposition filed so far.

by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read

Chignik moves to surrender the federal license on its long-dormant hydro plant

Chignik moves to surrender the federal license on a hydro plant idle since 2012, to build a state-run replacement. Residents have until Sept. 10 to weigh in.

by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read